Nvidia SHIELD pre-orders open, costs $349

Pre-orders for Nvidia's handheld SHIELD system have gone live today, and it'll set you back $349 to obtain one. The company says it'll be carried by Newegg, GameStop, Micro Center and Canada Computers.

SHIELD, for those not keeping track, is a Tegra 4-based system running Android Jelly Bean. It'll play Android games and apps, as well as stream Steam games. It can also be used to display games on your television.

It's certainly a curious item, but will users pay a considerable sum to satisfy their curiosity? With this and the Razer Edge coming up, there some intriguing additions being made to the mobile gaming space -- it remains to be seen if there's a particular market for such high-end, luxurious systems.